HAVING THE LAST WORD
by Desktop Dragon
Summary: *ONE SHOT* A very short whimsical little ditty that popped into my head, Hannah and Ana sit and discuss the merits of Fan Fiction and the problem of internet trolls and it is a tribute to all the fan fiction writers out there who have written stories only to have the experience sullied by trolls. I DO NOT OWN FSOG OR IT'S CHARACTERS.


**AUTHORS NOTE: This little ditty just popped into my head after my own experiences with trolls and after much thought I decided to run with it and it is dedicated to ALL the fan fiction authors who have endured more than their fair share of trolling. The two authors who I have used as my main inspiration for this story are Helen Mira and Hollylikes2write and anyone who is familiar with their work will recognise the references ****I have made to their stories. T****hese are/were two of my favourite stories. Helen Mira finished 'Fifty Shades of Post Partum' but after being hounded by trolls vowed to to write no more and sadly Hollylikes2write was driven way before 'Ana Unshattered' was complete and she pulled it, something which was a great shame as she was a brilliant author. I DO NOT OWN FSOG OR ITS CHARACTERS**

HAVING THE LAST WORD

It's a cold and drizzly morning as I climb out of the car in front of Grey Publishing, Christian is beside me and he kisses me with the fervent passion he always shows before he leaves me to go to Grey House.

I look up at him and touch his face; I love this man so completely I wonder what I would do without him.

"You'll have lunch with me" he demands and then he gives me one of his dazzling smiles.

"Yes sir" I say and I watch as he takes in a sharp breath and his nostrils flare.

"Careful Mrs Grey or I may have to accompany you into your office" he murmurs in my ear.

I giggle and push him away. "Behave and go to work, you have a universe to run" I say.

I see a reluctant smile pull at his lips, "As do you" he retorts.

I give him another swift kiss and then walk quickly into Grey Publishing without looking back. I greet Claire as I walk past the reception desk and she hands me my mail, which Luke quickly intercepts and takes from her.

He goes to his desk and I make my way to my own office.

"Good morning Hannah" I say as I pass my assistant who is busy scribbling a note.

I watch as Hannah looks up and smiles.

"Good morning Ana" she replies.

I go into my office and as I am getting myself organised for the day ahead Hannah pokes her head around my door. I know she is here to brief me on my schedule today and I quickly gesture to the seat in front of me.

"Ok hit me, what delights are going to fill my day today?" I ask as I fire up my computer, ready for the day ahead.

"Before we start, may I ask you a question?" Hannah asks as she places a mug of tea in front of me.

I look up and nod. "Sure, of course you can" I reply with a warm reassuring smile. I reach for the mug of tea and thank Hannah for bringing it to me and I moan with pleasure as I take a sip because she knows exactly how I like it.

"Fan Fiction… What are your views?" she asks.

I lean forward and sigh. I have heard about this and know about it only in very abstract terms but not enough to make an intelligent argument and I say as much.

"To be fair, I'm not really in a position to comment as I don't know that much about it" I say apologetically.

Hannah snorts, "You should take a look, as there are some brilliant stories on there for many different books, films, TV shows and many other things and with a bit of tweaking here and there and alterations to remove the references to the work they inspired by; they could become best sellers in their own right".

"Really?" I say, quite surprised by that.

Hannah nods enthusiastically. "Yeah, in fact a few years ago a Fan Fiction author did just that, she wrote a fan fiction of a supernatural story and it became quite the phenomenon in a totally different genre. As a result that fan fiction writer is now a very wealthy lady and her story has been made into a film".

"I see, well I might take a look and see if there is anything which takes my interest and if there is any raw potential that we can work with. It would probably take some work to make the stories seem different from their origins but if they are as good as you say then it would be worth the time and effort".

Hannah beams at me and I wonder if she had an ulterior motive for telling me this.

"Tell me Hannah, do you have a reason for bringing this up?" I ask.

I watch as Hannah blushes, "I'm quite a sucker for a few of the stories and some of them really are very good, so I just wanted to draw your attention to what could be an untapped market".

"I see, well when I get a moment I'll take a look and perhaps if you could point me in the right direction with some of the stories you particularly like?" I say.

Hannah nods enthusiastically, "I will".

We return to the day in hand and Hannah quickly runs through my schedule before returning to her desk.

**oooOOOooo**

I am just finishing editing a manuscript when there is a knock at the door and Hannah pokes her head around it.

"Are you busy?" she asks.

I shake my head, "No, I've just finished that manuscript and I'm going leave it there as it's nearly lunchtime and I'm meeting Christian shortly".

Hannah nods and looks at the piece of paper in her hand, "I've made a note of the stories I particularly like on that Fan Fiction site I was talking about this morning" she says.

"Oh right, let me see" I say and I hold out my hand for the paper.

Hannah walks towards me and hands it over, I gesture to the seat in front of my desk and she sits down.

"So these are all worth a look with a view to editing and publishing as original stories?" I ask and Hannah nods.

"Yes they are, although my favourite one has now gone but that seems to happen a lot, stories get pulled and really good writers just stop writing and sometimes disappear completely".

I frown, "What do you mean disappear? Do the stories get pulled to be published?" I ask.

Hannah shakes her head, "Sometimes, but generally speaking more often than not it's more the fact the authors are driven away".

I am shocked by that "What do you mean driven away?" I ask.

Hannah sighs, "There is a massive problem with internet trolls on the fan fiction site and that is exacerbated by the fact that to leave a review you don't even have to sign in. So you can say some pretty nasty stuff and hide behind anonymity and trust me some things these people say is quite disturbing at times and once they start they are relentless, so some authors just throw in the towel and go".

I lean forward, I have heard about this growing phenomenon of 'trolling'. How people think it is acceptable to post awful things on internet sites with seemingly no recourse. I have always just dismissed it as sad, lonely and bitter individuals who don't have anything better to do with their time and who just thrive on the attention they get from saying outrageously ridiculous things.

"So, what are you saying? They drive away the people who write the stories by abusing them?" I ask and Hannah nods.

"Yeah, they are prolific especially in certain areas. Some are worse than others; it depends on the story as certain stories attract more trolls than others. They generally fall into two categories you have the petty name callers and they just like to spend their time posting nasty pointless comments. They like to pick fault with the story and sometimes make quite personal attacks and generally act like mindless idiots. I think that they are obviously individuals who are clearly jealous of the writer's talent and so try and undermine it. From the outsiders perspective these individuals are actually quite funny at times in a tragic kind of way – but not when they start getting offensive of course. However, when they go off on one and what they are saying is totally and completely incorrect and it is obvious that they have completely missed the point by a merry mile you can't help but laugh at them because they are being so utterly ridiculous. Then you get the ones who try to bully the author to change the story as they don't like what has been written. I always say if you don't like it that's fair enough, but if you don't like it don't bloody read it. When you buy a book you don't sit and write the author a nasty email or letter if you don't agree with what is written or try and demand they re-write it with what you want written". She pauses and grins, "That's what fan fiction is for, as there are a number of stories on there where published authors have written books which ended badly and so people have had a go at writing how they think the story should've ended instead".

I let out a small laugh at the ridiculousness of that remark, "So these people try and get the writers to change their story because they personally don't like them?" I ask.

Hannah nods, "Oh yes, some are quite relentless and some of them remind me of toddlers having a hands and feet temper tantrum just because they can't get their own way. Only sometimes the things they say are pretty vindictive and abusive, I often wonder what sort of individuals these people are in real life, that they feel they have to perpetrate such behaviour".

"They may not behave like that in real life and the only reason they do so online is because they feel safe because they can hide behind their keyboard. They probably wouldn't have the guts to say half the stuff they do say if they were face to face with people concerned, but that is the way of bullies and from what you have described that is all these people seem to be and it is an established fact that bullies are essentially cowards. You said there were two types so who are the others?" I ask, as I'm curious to hear Hannah's views on this.

Hannah laughs, "The anal retentive ones who make a point of continually highlighting spelling, grammar and punctuation errors and not in a constructive way. When I read their so called reviews, I wonder sometimes if they are just wannabe or failed school teachers. Half the time though they seem to forget that these authors come from all over the world where there are different spelling variations and sometimes different meanings to words and also different punctuation rules. Not to mention they don't know anything about these writers. They may not be writing in their native language, and they may even have a learning disability. I read a story once and it was obvious that author had dyslexia or something as sometimes the words weren't in the correct order and there were words missed out. However, when they get as petty as to point out that a comma is in the wrong place or that the writer should've put in a full stop you do feel like saying for god's sake get a life as who actually gives a damn if it is a comma rather than a full stop or a semi colon? If these were stories that were published and you'd paid good money for them that would be a different matter entirely but most of these people are amateurs and this is their hobby. There is also the fact that if they did it in a constructive manner it would be acceptable as they are offering a constructive critique but they don't as the way they do it, it seems as though they are just trying to belittle and humiliate the writers, so again they are just another type of bully".

Hannah shrugs and I listen to her carefully. I have never seen her so animated or passionate about a subject before and I wonder if she is a fan fiction author and if she has been subjected to this foul, repulsive behaviour.

"But the thing is these cowards never sign in so there is no way the authors can respond other than to write an author's note at the beginning of the story to address what has been said and that then makes them even worse as it highlights them and just encourages them because they know they have been noticed and have now got an audience for their mindless rants" she adds.

I shake my head, "Surely there is some way to stop these individuals?" I ask.

Hannah snorts again, "I think the quickest way to stop them would be for the site to make it that you have to sign in before you can leave a comment or review, as that way you have to own what you've said and the author can respond personally to your comments. That would halve the amount of trolls overnight as named comments can then be reported if they are abusive and then the person writing them can get their membership suspended".

"So, why doesn't the site do this?" I ask, mystified that such a simple thing could prevent such a lot.

Hannah shrugs, "who knows?" she says.

She takes a deep breath and then continues to voice her opinion on this topic, "I personally think that the best way is to not pay any attention to them. They are fundamentally attention seekers clearly desperate people looking for attention and they don't care how they receive it. They thrive on the attention they get for spouting their moronic ramblings so my theory is if you take that attention away by ignoring them then they have no platform. It's a bit like a plant if you don't pay any attention to it and don't water it, it withers and eventually dies. It's the same with trolls if you feed their obsession with gaining the attention of the author by responding to them and biting when they provoke, they will grow stronger. Ignore them and they will eventually stop and wander off to find someone else to abuse because they are not getting the desired response. Some authors know how to moderate their guest reviews so basically they can censor what guest reviews are shown about their stories, but that seems to wind up the trolls even more at first as they start accusing authors of censorship. But I say it's only censorship if it what is being said is something worth censoring in the first place, most of the time what these people say isn't worth dignifying with a response".

"You seem to know an awful lot about this, are you a fan fiction writer?" I ask.

Hannah grins at me and shakes her head, "Me? No, I don't have the talent for such things, as I'm not creative enough but my sister is and the trolling she received was unbelievable and she was a really good fan fiction writer. I saw some of the comments she received and they were really nasty and some of them were quite personal and her only crime was that she went a long while without updating her story and she had a couple of unfinished stories on the go, but that was because she was sick and the abuse she got for it was unreal. Nasty comments about her lack of updates and they accused her of abandoning her stories. One moron even accused her of lying about being ill!"

I stare at Hannah in shock, I had no idea it was as bad as that. I know Hannah's sister and she is a lovely person.

"What these idiots don't realise is that people do this for fun and that they have real lives and real life commitments, they almost think that the writers are there just for them and should write on demand and that authors should write exactly what they want and when they want it. When it doesn't happen they throw a fit. It was sad really as her stories were really very good but in the end she just got sick of it and she pulled them all and then she stopped writing altogether. There have been other authors who just stopped writing because of the relentless trolling. I saw one author who had to repeatedly point out they had a real life and that they would post updates when they could and people shouldn't have to do that, and in the end she stopped writing as well because it was just too much hassle. I guess when you do something for fun and it is no longer fun you don't do it anymore".

"It sounds very sad" I say as I take another sip of my tea.

"The only sad thing is the fact these trolls are allowed to do what they do, there will always be individuals in the world who think it's acceptable to intimidate, bully and victimise others and who think kicking off will get them what they want. I think some of them clearly don't have anything better to do. If they had happy fulfilling lives they wouldn't feel the need to hurt others, I mean what sort of person decides that it's ok and acceptable to sit at a computer and abuse someone they don't know, just for writing a story? It sounds as ridiculous and pointless as it actually is, what do they get out of it as they only make themselves look pathetic?"

I sigh, "Nobody knows what is going on in their lives either, and they might have issues of their own that they haven't sought help for or dealt with. They might have been victims of bullying and victimisation in their own lives and this is their way of dealing with it, by lashing out at others. I'm not condoning it but there is something clearly very wrong going on with them if they believe that this is an acceptable way to behave in a civilised society".

"Hmm, I guess" Hannah says thoughtfully.

"From what you have said it seems that these people should be pitied for their actions. I agree that they shouldn't be given a platform to do what they do and they certainly shouldn't be encouraged by responding to them as that validates their pathetic behaviour, but the fact they feel the need to do it at all shows that there is obviously something missing from or seriously wrong with their lives". I say thoughtfully.

"Or it could just be that they just have no class or manners and as such are completely ignorant and clueless as to what is considered acceptable and appropriate behaviour, which is also really sad and to be pitied when you look at it that way" Hannah retorts.

I look down at the list of stories in my hand, Hannah has put stars against the ones she particularly likes and I will look at these to see if there is any potential in this idea. Then my mind goes back to Hannah's sister.

"Did your sister ever finish her story?" I ask.

Hannah smiles, "yeah she did and it's really good" she says.

"You've read it?" I ask.

She nods, "yeah, it's totally fabulous; I mean I know I'm biased as she is my sister but it really is good there are loads of twists and turns in it. The premise revolves around two businessmen, they are characters in two different published stories and she brought them together in one story. On the site they are called Crossover stories. Anyway, one is married with a young kid and another on the way and the other one is single, he was married but he's now divorced after his wife cheated on him. The one with a family dies suddenly and it is thought it was suicide as it looked as though he was having an affair, but as stuff comes out it becomes much more complicated and it becomes apparent that he was murdered. The other businessman comes into the story as a friend of the murdered guy's brother and he starts to get close to the widow and he helps her to uncover the truth".

"That actually sounds very good" I say.

"She wrote another one about Post Partum Depression and the effects it has on the whole family. It was stunningly written. It really was absolutely outstanding and very heartbreakingly accurate but the trolls started, mainly because they didn't understand the subject matter and were totally ignorant of what it is and how it affects people and they totally missed the entire point. She did manage to finish that story but that was the final straw for her and she said she wasn't going to write anything else, but it was not long after that she just pulled the whole lot".

"So sad" I say. I look at Hannah closely, "Could you get a copy of your sister's story to me as I would love to read it?" I ask.

Hannah looks at me in surprise, "Erm… yeah sure, which one?" she asks.

"The one about the two businessmen, as that sounds intriguing and out of interest what is it called?"

"Shattered" Hannah blushes slightly and looks a little uncomfortable as she tells me this and my eyebrows rise wondering where this is going.

"The female protagonist – the widow, my sister used you as her muse for some of her characteristics". She says slightly nervously.

I smile widely at this, "Well I certainly have to read it now" I say.

At that moment my office door opens and there stands my too handsome for his own good husband.

"Christian" I say and I look at my watch.

He grins at me, "I'm getting hungry baby" he says.

I quickly stand, "Well we can't have that can we?" I turn towards Hannah "Get me a copy of your sister's story. I'm not promising anything but if it's as good as you say it should be out there for others who would appreciate it to enjoy and that would also be the best way imaginable for her to have the last word".

Hannah grins, "Yeah you could say it would be like symbolically lifting your middle finger to the trolls".

I laugh at that "yes it certainly would".

**THE END**


End file.
